Hi,
My second set of shorter reviews from my January reading.
Tim
A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy by Miyamoto Musashi
This famous guide to strategy falls into a strange but entertaining niche: over-applied Eastern fighting philosophy. It takes its place alongside other well-known works such as The Art of War but distinguishes itself with its sole focus on an individual's mentality rather than on the larger unit.
Musashi's teaching approach is evident throughout. His philosophy is to lead a student to a place that is just beyond understanding- from there, the student can complete the lesson. He always sought to identify and create connections across professions, believing that specialization obscured the simple truths that defined success and failure across domains.
This book is filled with insight. He notes that those who cover great distances rarely seem to run all day or that skilled navigators only cross rivers at fords. And if you must ever learn to wield one difficult sword, Musashi recommends training with two such weapons, one in each hand.
My favorite idea from this book is The Way of the Warrior: when presented with a choice between life or death, choose death. Perhaps this is best not taken literally (similar mantras have foolishly misled nations, armies, or individuals in the past) but I liked how it highlighted the importance of choice for those trying to live up to higher principles.
When I voice my support for policy moves such as introducing basic income guarantees or implementing universal health insurance, I have this theme about choice in mind. Those who lack alternate means for survival income or find themselves exposed to financial ruin without health insurance cannot choose 'death' in their workplace. If such employees are tasked by employers with something that violates their moral or ethical principles, they simply grit their teeth and do it, forced to choose 'life' for the sake of protecting their income or retaining their healthcare. Add up these little decisions over a full lifetime and it is easy to see how people can take jobs that run directly counter to their outspoken principles.
Upstream by Mary Oliver
Mary Oliver's essay collection covers a wide range of topics. Of these, I found her reflections on the craft of writing and her deep meditations on the challenges of daily living the most interesting to me.
For the writer, Oliver sees a great calling to responsibility. The writer must dismiss what merely keeps the world spinning, instead seeking out the eternal and looking to make the connections that move the world forward. Eloquence is important, for without it the writer risks losing significance. Any suggestions within a work must be delivered to readers with kindness and encouragement. I thought Oliver's observations about the universality of incorporating loss and moving on were especially poignant.
One final note I thought worth taking down from this book- don't forget to be whimsical. No need to worry on that, I think.
The Mothers by Brit Bennett
Early on in this book, Bennett describes how one of her main characters feels in the weeks following the death of her mother. As I read, I remember thinking- that's exactly it...
This novel takes on some big topics that society prefers to shove into the closet, stuffed in boxes labeled 'too complicated' or 'I can't look at this right now' or 'everyone has their own opinion'. These include abortion, suicide, obligation, and regret. Loss is a theme throughout. I thought it more than met the task it set for itself.
The Mothers is not the kind of book that left me in constant excitement about what would happen next (do any mothers?). In certain sections, the plot followed a course I'm sure seasoned readers would find familiar or even predictable. But a curious feeling lingered as I absorbed new scenes, conversations, or observations. The main question I wondered about in these moments was always the same- would I relate to these characters?
It was to my surprise that I often did. It all goes back to how I read about that first experience of loss. I suspect the challenge of getting readers to relate to characters unlike themselves keeps the novelist up at night. I learned from The Mothers that one way to address this issue is to perfectly describe difficult emotions early in the work. A reader who recognizes a familiar feeling within the writing will trust the author through the rest of the work- especially when much of it ventures into the unknown.
